Grappling with Race, Faith, and Friendship in Perils and Promises Workshop July 27, 2023 By Collegeville Institute Leave a Comment From July 6-11, the Collegeville Institute hosted Perils and Promises: Black Women Write Honestly about their Friendships with White Women. This invitation-only workshop, led by author Patrice Gopo and supported by a grant from the Louisville Institute, brought together ten Black women writers to grapple with questions at the intersection of race, faith, and friendship. Left to Right: Tomi Oredein, Patrice Gopo (leader), Chichi Agorom, Kathryn Stanley, Paula Parker, Quanny Ard, Dorena Williamson, Deidra Riggs, Kadeisha Bonsu, Velynn Brown In this workshop, designed to explicitly center the voices and experiences of Black women, participants wrote personal essays about their experiences in friendships with white women. As a way to foster community and collective conversation, the participants also began to write essays in response to one another’s work. This project has personal significance for Patrice: “In some of my friendships with white women,” she has written, “I’ve struggled to address the impact of broken race relations. Along the way, I’ve clung to the stories other women of color have shared about similar experiences.” Ultimately, she plans to collect the essays from this project into an anthology that will create space for conversation and draw attention to the complex issue of cross-racial friendships—and the perils and promises they hold. As an award-winning essayist and author, Gopo often writes about racial identity formation, immigration experiences, and the beauty of living a multifaceted life. Workshop participants praised her skill as a teacher; as one wrote in the post-workshop evaluation, “Patrice is an amazing and generous workshop facilitator.” Participants also commented on the Collegeville Institute’s hospitality: “Thank you Collegeville Institute for making me feel so loved and cared for,” wrote one. Another writer echoed, “Thank you for your attention to detail and exquisite care for us all.” Overall, workshop participants found this workshop to be profoundly meaningful. “This was a transformative experience for me,” wrote one. Another wrote simply, “This has been one of the best experiences of my life.” Like this post? Subscribe to have new posts sent to you by email the same day they are posted.
